Brain electrical activities of dancers and fast ball sports athletes are different

Abstract

Exercise training has been shown not only to influence physical fitness positively but also cognition in healthy and impaired populations. However, some particular exercise types, even though comparable based on physical efforts, have distinct cognitive and sensorimotor features. In this study, the effects of different types of exercise, such as fast ball sports and dance training, on brain electrical activity were investigated. Electroencephalography (EEG) scans were recorded in professional dancer, professional fast ball sports athlete (FBSA) and healthy control volunteer groups consisting of twelve subjects each. In FBSA, power of delta and theta frequency activities of EEG was significantly higher than those of the dancers and the controls. Conversely, dancers had significantly higher amplitudes in alpha and beta bands compared to FBSA and significantly higher amplitudes in the alpha band in comparison with controls. The results suggest that cognitive features of physical training can be reflected in resting brain electrical oscillations. The differences in resting brain electrical oscillations between the dancers and the FBSA can be the result of innate network differences determining the talents and/or plastic changes induced by physical training.